The Walking Dead season ten returns with “Lines We Cross.” It’s spring time and the communities are working together to keep their lives comfortable. They are still abiding by the Whisperers rules, but there have been no signs of the people with masks since winter. It’s only a matter of time.
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TRAINING DAY
A Russian satellite enters the Earth’s atmosphere the same time that the communities are training on the Oceanside beaches. The militia is led by Aaron (Ross Marquand) and their formation is tight. Ezekiel (Khary Peyton) and Jerry (Cooper Andrews) rile up a group of walkers trapped in a boat cabin. They let out a few walkers to give Aaron’s group something to practice on.
Archers take the first shot. As the walkers get closer, Aaron’s metal shields hold the walkers back long enough for people like Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Judith (Cailey Fleming) to stab them in the heads. Daryl (Norman Reedus) watches from afar but when the cabin walls give way, the group is forced to deal with a small herd of walkers. Daryl joins in on the action as the group easily kills the walkers.
Afterward, Michonne and Daryl talk about how Tara would be proud of their progress as a group. Michonne likes that the kids were able to see the ocean for the first time. The kids were down by the beach collecting shells. They return each with a bucket full of sand. Judith helps RJ (Antony Azor) go through his bucket and finds a Whisperer mask.
YELLOW ALERT
Aaron and Michonne radio Alexandria and tell Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) about the mask. Aaron suggests they go on lock down just in case. Michonne says they haven’t seen any other signs of the Whisperers’ return. They don’t want to cause a panic so for now everyone should stay alert. Aaron doesn’t like it and voices his concerns. He says they owe it to their people to make sure they are safe. Michonne agrees to take a group of riders out to look for clues. Daryl let her know that he’s going back to the beach. She sends a message for ‘her’ not to leave without saying goodbye.
Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), Magna (Nadia Hilker), Luke (Dan Fogler), and Alden (Callan McAuliffe) join Michonne and Aaron in their search. Aaron raises concerns that maybe they are the bad guys in someone else’s survival story. Michonne doesn’t care if they are the bad guys to the Whisperers, but Aaron isn’t just talking about the Whisperers.
They see a group of walkers on a bridge and Aaron recklessly goes after them. He gets in a bit of trouble trying to kill the walkers and Michonne has to save him. Being on the bridge upsets her and she yells at Aaron for being stupid, saying he could have died.
Aaron is just as frustrated with everyone acting like living fear is normal. He’s kept his cool until now, always being the nice guy and now Eric and Jesus are both dead. He’s tired of being nice. Michonne says it’s not just about being nice, it’s about being smart and ensuring that their people are safe. The Whisperers have a nuclear weapon and they don’t. Aaron changes the subject and suggests they go back to Oceanside. Yumiko and Magna found something though.
Michonne and the group meet up deep in the woods where the ladies found a couple of dead bodies. They also found a slab of skin drying out on a tree stump. The Whisperers have definitely been on their side of the border.
BOOM!
Back at Oceanside, Michonne says she can see what’s coming. The fear can tear them apart again if they don’t stop it before it starts. Aaron apologizes for his carelessness on the bridge. The fear can keep them safe too. Michonne was trying to tell him to be smart, not afraid. But she did think about what he said, about who they’ve become and who they are. They are the good guys. They have to choose to be the good guys even when it’s hard. The minute they question that choice, they lose site of it and that’s when the answer changes. That’s scary than a Whisperer mask to Michonne
Michonne hears Judith telling RJ a story about a brave man, Rick. the story is about how he blew up the bridge to save his community. RJ has questions. Did the brave man go to his friends’ house after? No, he died and went to heaven. . Will the brave man return some day, like the walkers? No, people like the brave man never really go away. They live inside their hearts and make them brave too.
Michonne tears up at the thought of RJ never knowing his dad. She says hi to the kids and RJ gives her a big hug. Michonne asks for a hug from Judith and she rolls her eyes. RJ asks why the brave man had to die. Michonne answers there are some people that you love so much that you’d do anything for them. Like the way she loves RJ and Judith…and their dad.
They hear a loud boom from the sky and see something falling. Everyone sees it and comments on it. Judith asks if it’s a meteor shower, but they don’t know. Rachel (Avianna Mynhier) runs up to Michonne. Eugene in on the radio and needs to speak to her ASAP.
BIRD WISDOM
REWIND. Aaron and Michonne call Gabriel on the radio to warn him about the Whisperer’s return. At the same time, Rosita (Christian Serratos) is getting in her daily workout while Eugene (Josh McDermitt) looks after Coco. Actually, Eugene is studying Coco. He measures her arms and legs, records when she eats, poops, and burps. And he put everything on a chart for the other caretakers of Coco. According to that chart, she’s about three months old.
Rosita reminds him that she’s a baby, not a science experiment. She’s also annoyed that Eugene set up radios for the communities to talk to each other. That’s all Gabriel does. Gabriel joins the group with a very concerned look on his face. He tells them about the mask.
Lydia (Cassady McClincy) is learning to read but doesn’t feel like it’s natural for her to know. The council clears out the school and everyone gives her side looks. Lydia practices her fighting skills when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) realizes she’s frustrated about something. Lydia tells him about the mask and how everyone is on high alert. Negan warns her to watch her back.
PTSD
Siddiq (Avi Nash) is watching the baby when he has a flashback about the Whisperers. The new medical assistant, Dante (Juan Javier Cardenas) catches him and awkwardly tries to relate to Siddiq. Siddiq says he was trying to kill a spider and tries his best to avoid talking to Dante.
Gabriel visits Negan asking why he’s not outside. Negan knows trouble is coming. He’s laying low so no one puts him in the “them” category of people they hate. Gabriel tries to say nothing his going on, but Negan says it’s about to happen. He knows about the mask and he knows that scares people. He says Gabriel needs to make people feel secure, even if it’s just for show. Gabriel thinks Negan wants him to lie. That’s his regurgitated ‘Bird Wisdom.’ Negan likes to think of it as using the truth to manipulate. There’s no harm if it keeps people alive.
Gabriel goes outside and tells his people to lock up the gates for the night and secure the walls. They hear the boom and see the object in the sky. Eugene runs to the radio and requests to speak to Michonne. Something of grave importance is about to happen.
SEA DOGS
After Aaron warned Alexandria about the mask, Daryl went to the beach. He watches Rachel try to warn Kelly (Angel Theory) about stepping on a big rock on the beach. Kelly can’t hear her though and gets upset when she realizes Rachel was talking to her. Connie (Lauren Ridloff) sees the whole thing and consoles her. Kelly is scared about losing her hearing. Connie assures her that she will be okay. It’s not a disability, it’s a superpower.
Dog runs up to Daryl. Kelly notices the chemistry between Connie and Daryl, but Connie dismisses it. Daryl walks to the docks and meets Ezekiel. Ezekiel tells Daryl about his time working at a zoo. He says he was afraid of the birds at the zoo, so Daryl tells him he needs to eat more birds. Connie meets them on the dock with Dog. She tells him he signs with a southern accent.
A boat approaches with Carol (Melissa McBride) on board. Ezekiel greets her and helps her down. They don’t say much before Carol turns to reunite with Daryl. They walk through the beach and Carol tells him about life is like on the boat. He wonders if Carol was gone so long because she was looking for Alpha (Samantha Morton). She says she tried to forget everything that happened. She doesn’t want to think about the Whisperers ever again. He tells her about the mask and asks if she wants to help search for the Whisperers. She’s only there until the next boat goes out. They decide to go for a motorcycle ride in the woods instead.
NEW MEXICO
They go around, killing walkers for sport, they decide to start hunting. Daryl shoots a deer. They see it cross the Whisperer border and walkers approaching it. Carol starts to shoot the deer, but Daryl stops her. She doesn’t care about the borders, but stops from killing it. Daryl apologizes for making her mad. They all agreed to not start arguments if they don’t need to.
Daryl asks Carol to come home, but she says she’s a Sea Dog now. Daryl apologizes again for not wanting his best friend to spend her whole life on a boat. Carol makes fun of him for calling her his best friends and suggest they make friendship bracelets. He takes back his comment.
Carol wonders if this is all there is out there. Running into people, killing until someone says it’s enough. Daryl thinks they are surviving on fight til the next. It was like that for both of them before the world ended. Carol asks him to go on the boat with her, but he doesn’t like the idea of sitting in the cabin. She suggests they get on his bike and just ride. Daryl suggests they go to New Mexico, where the people weave bracelets. And no more fighting. Daryl made a bracelet and gives it to Carol. They hear the loud boom and see the object in the sky.
LINES WE CROSS
The Russian satellite crashed in the woods on the Whisperer’s side of the border. Oceanside people gather to put the fire out. Magna doesn’t think it’s an idea. If they are caught on the other side of the border, they will start a war. Diane (Kerry Cahill) says the fire could spread to their hunting ground. Cyndie (Sydney Park) is worried about it spreading to Oceanside. Aaron questions Michonne, but there’s not time to debate. They have to stop the fire from spreading. So they cross the border.
The fire is spread out across the woods so they have to spread out to contain it. Most of the residents have metal packs of water to spray around the fire. Others start digging a ditch to keep the fire from crossing to their lands. The light up the ditch to keep the fire from crossing.
People bring water from the ocean. It takes until morning to put out most of the fire. Ezekiel gets overwhelmed by the smoke and the backpacks run out of water. A group of walkers approach so Cyndie passes out weapons. More walkers are behind that group. Michonne, Cyndie, Daryl, Carol and Diane prepare to fight.
EMBERS
The majority of the residents continue to put out the fire while a handful of leaders fight off the walkers. Those where digging the ditch arrive and start digging to stop the fire. Some of the residents fall over from inhaling the smoke. Eugene and the Alexandria residents show up to help. A tree starts to fall, so Daryl throws an ax at it so it falls on a group of walkers. They continue to fight the fire and the walkers until the fire is out.
Everyone packs up their gear and rushes to get out of the Whisperers’ woods. Eugene wants to take the satellite back to Alexandria. Michonne denies his request but he goes on a tangent about valuable parts that could help the communities. Michonne tells some people to help him and gives him five minutes to move the satellite out of the woods. Luke ask Eugene about radiation poisoning. He points out that everyone is already infected by something that changes them into walkers. Luke gets it. No one is getting superpowers.
Aaron says they made the right choice by putting out the fire. It could bring them some goodwill with the Whisperers. Michonne doesn’t care about that. She only wants to help their people. She looks around to see Carol and Daryl are missing.
Daryl took Carol to the quarry where Alpha kept her herd of walkers. He asks if she still wants to run away. She says she’s leaving the next day, but he asks her to think about staying. Or he’s going to punch holes in all of the boats. Daryl leaves. Carol starts to follow but sees someone emerge from the trees. It’s Alpha. She looks directly at Carol.
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THOUGHTS
This premiere episode was just to catch up with the folx of Alexandria and reestablish Oceanside as part of the community. And there was also the talk of values and purpose.
Living under someone else’s rule is hard for Team Family. It’s only a matter of time before they strike back, despite the nuclear weapon. Maybe that satellite will even the odds a bit.
Carol and Aaron won’t lie down for the Whisperers and something tells me they aren’t the only ones. Aaron is a little reckless though. I hope in his anger, he doesn’t make any big mistakes.
Carol on the other hand can stay calm and collected in a fight. I can’t wait for her to come face to face with Alpha. Don’t disappoint me The Walking Dead writers!
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
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